Marcin Nowicki

University of Tennessee at Knoxville | UTK · Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

Cornus kousa (Asian dogwood), an East Asia native tree, is the most economically important species of the dogwood genus, owing to its desirable horticultural traits and ability to hybridize with North America‐native dogwoods. To assess the species genetic diversity and to better inform the ongoing and future breeding efforts, we assembled an herbar...

Peronospora tabacina is an obligate parasite that causes blue mold of tobacco. The pathogen reproduces primarily by sporangia, whereas the sexual oospores are rarely observed. A collection of 122 isolates of P. tabacina was genotyped using nine microsatellites to assess the population structure of individuals from subpopulations collected from cent...

Downy mildews caused by obligate biotrophic oomycetes result in severe crop losses worldwide. Among these pathogens, Pseudoperonospora cubensis and P. humuli, two closely related oomycetes, adversely affect cucurbits and hop, respectively. Discordant hypotheses concerning their taxonomic relationships have been proposed based on host-pathogen inter...

Understanding of the present-day genetic diversity, population structure, and evolutionary history of tree species can inform resource management and conservation activities, including response to pressures presented by a changing climate. Cercis canadensis (Eastern Redbud) is an economically valuable understory tree species native to the United St...

Pyrus calleryana Decne. (Callery pear) is a deciduous tree native to China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It is a popular ornamental tree in the United States (US) with early spring blooms and vibrant fall color. There are at least 26 cultivars of P. calleryana available in the US of which “Bradford” is the most well-known. Open-pollinated P. calleryan...

Breastfeeding is the optimal form of infant nutrition and remains a critical topic of discussion. In the case of lactation problems, women can be assisted by plant galactagogues designed to induce, sustain, and increase lactation. Reports on the popularity, awareness and knowledge of galactagogues are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze...

Background. The use of edible insects as a food source for humans creates numerous demographic, environmental, economic and ethical challenges for societies. The consumption of food containing edible insects in its composition requires, first and foremost, its acceptance by consumers. The aim of the study was to determine whether the attitudes and...

Background. Insect consumption (entomophagy) is increasingly becoming the focus of attention, not only for economic reasons, but also due to environmental and health benefits. Achieving environmentally sustainable food security is one of the greatest global challenges today. A wide range of edible insect species, which are rich in protein, fat, min...

Leaf rust caused by Puccinia triticina (Pt) is one of the most impactful diseases causing substantial losses in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) crops. In adult plants resistant to Pt, a horizontal adult plant resistance (APR) is observed: APR protects the plant against multiple pathogen races and is distinguished by durable persistence under pr...

Recent emergence of dieback and vascular streaking disorder (VSD) has been reported in several USA states and beyond, affecting about 30 different tree and shrub species. These include ecologically important native plants and economically valuable ornamental crops such as redbuds, dogwoods, and others. Those species are integral to Tennessee's nurs...

Genomic resource development for an ascomycete fungal pathogen, Discula destructiva, which causes dogwood anthracnose of flowering dogwoods (Cornus florida) and pacific dogwoods (Cornus nuttallii).

Understanding the dogwood anthracnose pathogen, Discula destructiva, is necessary to protect the American dogwoods Cornus florida and C. nuttallii. Modern lab techniques for investigating physiology and genetics of plant pathogens such as fungi allow researchers to prevent and control deadly pathogens. However, a large volume of data and various ex...

The marketing of insect-derived protein has led to the development of respective legal regulations on such insects-based foods in the European Union. Despite the interest in the area of insect-based food, European researchers have paid relatively little attention to consumer attitudes and behaviors towards such products or the factors that may affe...

Helianthus verticillatus (Asteraceae), a whorled sunflower, is a perennial species restricted to a few locations in the Southeastern United States and is now considered endangered. Therefore, restoring and protecting H. verticillatus as a species is a priority. This study introduces a highly efficient in vitro adventitious plant regeneration system...

The present study aimed to identify declared patterns of ideal appearance among students at selected higher education institutions in Poland. In the present study, we set out to identify the body image and the propensity to change it. In order to achieve the goal of the study, a nationwide survey was carried out using a voluntary diagnostic survey....

Molecular detection, Loop-mediated isothermal amplification

Assessment of growth and extracellular enzyme production in Discula destructiva and Juglanconis japonica isolates to establish foundational knowledge of isolates used for the development of genomic resources (genome assembly, genome annotations, and RNA sequencing).

It is critical to gather biological information about rare and endangered plants to incorporate into conservation efforts. The secondary metabolism of Pityopsis ruthii, an endangered flowering plant that only occurs along limited sections of two rivers (Ocoee and Hiwassee) in Tennessee, USA was studied. Our long-term goal is to understand the mecha...

About 160 species are classified within the Viburnum genus and many of these are cultivated for horticultural purposes. The vast dispersal of Viburnum makes the genus a useful model for studying evolutionary history and inferring how species expanded into their current distributions. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were previously developed fo...

To counterbalance the growing human population and its increasing demands from the ecosystem, and the impacts on it, new strategies are needed. Use of organic fertilizers boosted the agricultural production, but further increased the ecological burden posed by this indispensable activity. One possible solution to this conundrum is the development a...

To prevent the staggering degradation of the environment, restrictions in the use of plant protection products and fertilizers are being strengthened every year. Therefore, methods for improving plant tolerance to unfavorable environmental conditions are sought to positively affect both plants and the natural environment. Here, we evaluated and com...

Improvements in agricultural production are needed, as the growing human population demands more resources and exerts stronger effects on climate. Water scarcity is one of the main factors limiting the yield of maize in many regions of the world. One possible method to mitigate the negative effects of drought is seed mortars; its use improves plant...

Weigela (Caprifoliaceae) is a genus of ornamental plants popular for its phenotypic variation and hardiness, that includes species hybridized to produce the commercially available cultivars. Despite its popularity, limited genetic resources exist for the genus. Twenty genomic simple sequence repeat (gSSR) markers distributed across the genome were...

The complete chloroplast genome of Pyrus calleryana (GenBank OM541581.1) was developed by de novo assembly from whole-genome sequencing data. Reference-guided ( P. phaeocarpa ) read mapping and assembly were followed by annotation and phylogenetic comparisons. The 159,965 bp P. calleryana chloroplast genome represented 36.56% GC content with a clas...

The growing human population renders challenges for the future supply of food products with high nutritional value. Here, we enhanced the functional and nutritional value of biscuits, a popular sweet snack, by replacing the wheat flour with 2%, 6%, or 10% (w/w) cricket powder. Consumer acceptance ratings for reference and 2% augmented cookies were...

Pyrus calleryana Decne. (Callery pear) includes cultivars that in the United States are popular ornamentals in commercial and residential landscapes. Last few decades, this species has increasingly naturalized across portions of the eastern and southern US. However, the mechanisms behind this plant’s spread are not well understood. The genetic rela...

Drought is one of the major factors that limit cucumber quality and yield. Mitigation of drought impacts requires a substantial change in the metabolism of plant cells. This is reflected in the extensive transcriptome changes upon the occurrence of the stress. In this study, a comparative time-course RNA-sequencing analysis was performed in two cuc...

The Viburnum genus is of particular interest to horticulturalists, phylogeneticists, and biogeographers. Despite its popularity, there are few existing molecular markers to investigate genetic diversity in this large genus, which includes over 160 species. There are also few polymorphic molecular tools that can delineate closely related species wit...

Helianthus verticillatus (Asteraceae), whorled sunflower, is a perennial species restricted to a few locations in the Southeastern United States. Habitat loss has caused H. verticillatus to become rare, and since 2014, it has been federally listed as an endangered species. As a part of the recovery plan for the restoration and protection of H. vert...

Seed treatments help reduce the pathogen load and thus improve the condition of plants from their earliest developmental stages, but they can have impacts beyond their basic fungicide protection role. In this study, we investigated how seven spring barley seed treatments affected the plants' physiological state. The tested seed treatments differed...

Abstract Forest fragmentation may negatively affect plants through reduced genetic diversity and increased population structure due to habitat isolation, decreased population size, and disturbance of pollen‐seed dispersal mechanisms. However, in the case of tree species, effective pollen‐seed dispersal, mating system, and ecological dynamics may he...

Cercis canadensis L. (Eastern Redbud) is a small, understory tree native to 24 states in the eastern United States (US) and Mexico. It is among the earliest deciduous trees that flower in the spring, has lush-green heart-shaped leaves and a wide range of fall foliage colors. Eastern Redbud has become a very popular landscape tree, contributing to m...

Peronospora tabacina Skalický [D.B. Adam], an obligate oomycete causing blue mold of tobacco, is an important pathogen causing significant economic losses. The pathogen rarely reproduces sexually, and the windblown asexual sporangia from infected plants are the source of yearly natural epidemics. A collection of 110 isolates of P. tabacina with s...

Cercis canadensis L. (Eastern Redbud) is a small, understory tree native to the eastern United States (U.S) and naturally distributed in 24 states of the eastern U.S. and Mexico. It is one of the earliest flowering trees in the spring, has lush-green heart-shaped leaves throughout the summer, and a wide range of fall foliage colors. Eastern Redbud...

https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.54.9S.S364 Cercis canadensis L. (Eastern Redbud) is a small, understory tree native to the eastern United States (U.S) and naturally distributed in 24 states of the eastern U.S. and Mexico. It is one of the earliest flowering trees in the spring, has lush-green heart-shaped leaves throughout the summer, and a wide r...

Potato juice (PJ), commonly considered a burdensome waste, is rich in various compounds with bioactive properties. It has long been considered a remedy for gastric problems in traditional folk medicine. If valorization of PJ through implementation in the production of functional foods is to be considered, stabilization methods must be developed to...

Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS) carries great potential as alternative natural rubber source. To better inform future breeding efforts with TKS and gain a deeper understanding of its genetic diversity, we utilized de novo sequencing to generate novel genomic simple sequence repeats markers (gSSRs). We utilized 25 gSSRs on a collection of genomic DNA (gD...

The genus Chrysogonum is native to the eastern United States. Three entities have been recognized—either as three varieties of Chrysogonum virginianum or as two species, one of them with two varieties. The current study suggests that a fourth entity should be recognized. Several forms of the complex are in commercial trade as ornamentals. As very l...

Frafra potato (Solenostemon rotundifolius) is an important food crop indigenous to Western Africa and a member of the Labiaceae (mint) family. It is nutrient-rich and drought tolerant; however, despite its potential as a food security crop, it has not received the research support needed to promote its widespread adoption and safeguard its diversit...

Chloroplast DNA is a part of plant non-nuclear genome, and is of particular interest for lineage studies. Moreover, the non-coding regions of cpDNA display higher mutation rates than the conserved coding cpDNA, which has been employed for phylogenetic and population research. We analyzed the cpDNA of 332 gDNA samples from collections of Cornus flor...

Available NCBI-deposited sequences of cpDNA03 from the Cornus genus align very well with those obtained in our study. Respective Genbank numbers and GUIDANCE (HoT) alignment scores are indicated for the sequences of each species analyzed: (A) C. florida (1,000000); (B) C. kousa (0,992379); (C) C. mas (0,999432); (D) C. nuttallii (1,000000). Sequenc...

Coverage and polymorphisms retrieved by high-throughput transcriptome sequencing (HiSeq) of Cornus florida bracts and leaves and C. kousa bracts. Total RNA extracted from the bracts of C. florida (n = 8; three unique cultivars), bracts of C. kousa (n = 7; two unique cultivars), and leaves of C. florida (n = 8; four unique cultivars) were submitted...

Analytical details showing the cpDNA regions used in the study, their respective primers sequences, PCR conditions, and product sizes. (DOCX)

Best Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic trees of the MAFFT-aligned sequences from cpDNA01 (A), cpDNA02 (B), and cpDNA03 (C) obtained in this study. Sequences were G regions trimmed (SeaView; low stringency) after MAFFT alignment to remove the uninformative characters. The RAxML settings of 100 runs and a bootstrap of 10,000 were used. The sequences of...

Detailed chlorotyping results of the simplified (unique entry) Cornus collection. Within groups (C. florida collection; C. kousa collection; other Cornus species collection), cultivars/lines/accessions were ordered alphabetically. Chlorotyping results as per Call et al.[18] are presented first, with the extended chlorotyping panel in the following...

Proportion of variable sites in the MAFFT-aligned sequences. Reported % values (in parentheses–base pair length of the alignment) for aligned cpDNA01, 02, 03, and concatenated sequences. Sequenced samples are listed out in Table 1. Sequences were aligned using MAFFT without G regions trimming of uninformative sites. Cornus species grouping as in re...

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) detected in the cpDNA of Cornus controversa pose little alternative to chlorotyping. The SSRs were detected in the sequence (KU852492.1; NC_030260.1 voucher SCONT20150712 chloroplast, complete genome, 158,674 bp) using the https://ssr.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov with the default settings. (DOCX)

This supplement contains the abstracts of presentations from the following National Conference and Regional Meetings of the American Society for Horticultural Science

Heavy losses incited yearly by Alternaria brassicicola on the vegetable Brassicaceae have prompted our search for sources of genetic resistance against the pathogen and the resultant disease, dark leaf spot. We optimized several parameters to test the performance of the plants under artificial inoculations with this pathogen, including leaf age and...

Downy mildew caused by the oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis generates significant yearly losses of cucumbers and related crops in Poland and worldwide. In our study, we chose five cucumber cultigens showing a broad range of P. cubensis reactions, and submitted them to laboratory bio-assays with an aggressive local pathogen isolate, to observe th...

Tomato is one of the most economically important vegetables in Poland. One of the lost limiting factors in tomato production in Poland and worldwide is the oomycete Phytophhtora infestans [(Mont.) de Bary]. It causes late blight, which generates about 50% produce losses in field crops annually, and in the case of conducive conditions (long-term coo...

The recessive positional sterile (ps) mutation, which occurred spontaneously in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), is characterized by connate petals, normal viable pollen grains, but non-dehiscent anthers because of persistent stomium (Larson and Paur 1948; Fig. 1A). Previously it was shown, that this type of mutation functionally blocks the decarb...

Downy mildew caused by the oomycete Pseudoperonospora cubensis generates significant yearly losses of cucumbers and related crops in Poland. We chose five cucumber cultigens showing a broad range of P. cubensis reactions, and submitted them to laboratory bio-assays with an aggressive local pathogen isolate, to observe the important biochemical and...

Heavy losses incited yearly by Alternaria brassicicola on the vegetable Brassicaceae ? have prompted our search for sources of genetic resistance against the pathogen and the resultant disease, dark leaf spot. We optimized several parameters to test the performance of the plants under controlled conditions to this disease, including leaf age and po...

Heavy losses incited yearly by Alternaria brassicicola on the vegetable Brassicaceae ? have prompted our search for sources of genetic resistance against the pathogen and the resultant disease, dark leaf spot. We optimized several parameters to test the performance of the plants under controlled conditions to this disease, including leaf age and po...

Heavy losses incited yearly by Alternaria brassicicola on the vegetable Brassicaceae – have prompted our search for sources of genetic resistance against the resultant disease, dark leaf spot. We optimized several parameters to test the performance of the plants under controlled conditions to this disease, including leaf age and position, inoculum...

We developed the LAMP-HRM assay for detection of P. infestans in a RealTime PCR machine. Specific pathogen detection was achieved in the 18 th minute of the reaction, which, in comparison with other diagnostic methods, shortens the analysis time. For instance, first late blight symptoms after inoculation of tomato plants with P. infestans are manif...